'A historic moment' Diaz-Canel sworn in as Cuba President to end 59 years of Castro rule

'A historic moment' Diaz-Canel sworn in as Cuba President to end 59 years of Castro rule

MIGUEL Diaz-Canel has been sworn in as the new President of Cuba in a historic move that ends nearly 60 years of rule by the Castro brothers in a change of power aimed at preserving socialism in the country.

Mr Diaz-Canel, a stalwart of the ruling Communist party for more than 30 years, was sworn in by the National Assembly to replace Raul Castro, with the 57-year-old gaining votes from 603 of the 604 lawmakers present.

The transition is seen as a historic shift from an era that began with Fidel and Raul Castro’s 1959.

In his first speech as President, Mr Diaz-Canel said: “The mandate given by the people to this house is to give continuity to the Cuban revolution in a crucial historic moment.”

Fidel Castro handed power to his brother in 2008 as his health deteriorated, and died aged 90 in 2016.

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Cuba's new President said 86-year-old Raul Castro will remain as head of the Communist Party until congress in 2021 and still be involved major decisions.

During his speech at the National Assembly, Mr Diaz-Canel confirmed the transition would not herald sweeping changes to to island’s state-run economy and one-party systems, ruling out a return to capitalism.

Instead, the new period would be characterised by “modernisation of the economic and social model”.

Mr Diaz-Canel added there would not be a compromise in Cuba’s foreign policy, which has seen tensions with the US in particular escalate over many years, and would hold dialogue with anyone who treated the island as an equal.

During this speech, Raul Castro listened from the front row of the assembly and at one point he stood up with his arms raised to thunderous applause.

The former President’s time in office will be remembered for the lack of improvement around one of the world’s last Soviet-style centrally planned economies because of limited market reforms that were implemented.

But a landmark moment was the agreement with former US President Barack Obama to restore long-severed diplomatic ties and seek an end to decades of hostilities between the two countries.